Autobiographical hypermnesia as a particular form of mental time travel

Abstract

Hyperthymesia has been described in individuals, who show superior retrieval capacities in autobiographical memory. This condition differs from superior memory, which refers to the supranormal ability to acquire and recall new information but not autobiographical information. The process responsible for hyperthymesia is still largely unknown and most knowledge come from case studies, showing individual with impressive superior capacities to retrieve autobiographical memories. Here, we describe a case of hyperthymesia with an objective as well as a subjective assessment of mental time travel abilities in different temporal distances. This is the first observation of hyperthymesia with a full evaluation of mental time travel capacities in different temporal distances, encompassing the individual capacity to retrieve personal events from the personal past as well as to foresee personal events in the future. This observation could pave the way to further research on superior autobiographical abilities, studied in the context of personal temporality.